Fear of failure undermines economy and government

3:03 PM,
Mar. 5, 2014

Written by

Peter Orszag

American children are having fewer accidents than they once did, and our natural inclination is to cheer the news. The rate of "nonfatal fall injuries" among children ages 5 to 14, for example, declined by more 10 percent from 2001 to 2012. But if fewer childhood falls reflect increasing attempts to safety-proof life, the trend might not be the improvement it seems. Various indicators suggesting reduced dynamism in the U.S. economy can be viewed similarly; our inclination is to celebrate a reduction in job destruction rates, but should we?